What is the PSC?
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) claims to oppose racism and support the Palestinian people. We would like to think that those who describe themselves as human rights activists are people who deserve that title; but anti-Jewish, anti-homosexual and pro-terror sentiment can be found throughout the PSC. These are not the bigotries of a few individuals, but hundreds of its members from across the country. If we are to accept such persons as defenders of human rights, then something has gone very wrong.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign claims on its website that it was created to “promote solidarity with the Palestinian people…to promote Palestinian civil society in the interests of democratic rights and social justice…in opposition to racism, including anti-Jewish prejudice”.
The PSC employs a liberal and democratic narrative to advocate its message, and portrays itself as an organisation committed to supporting human rights. We believe the reality to be very different. See for yourself.
The BBC describes the PSC as a ‘radical’ organisation noted for its support of terror groups. This website is the first of its kind to examine comprehensively the activities of the PSC and to highlight the moral disparities between the public rhetoric of the organisation and its links to supremacist organisations, promotion of racist and homophobic hate speech and the endemic culture of incitement to violence that we believe is institutionalised within the PSC.
By running a powerful network of groups across the country, the PSC regularly provides a platform to homophobic and racist speakers. One recent example detailed in this website is the radical hate preacher Raed Salah. When confronted with numerous examples of Salah’s bigotry, the PSC launched a campaign entitled “Justice for Raed Salah” – demonstrating that while the PSC’s narrative is cloaked in human rights discourse, it is more than happy to condone bigotry and hate speech that actively undermine the human rights of others.
The PSC’s support for racism and violence goes far beyond merely propagating the views of guest speakers; PSC members have repeatedly espoused virulently racist views – rhetoric almost identical to that encouraged by far-right organizations.
In December 2009, at a PSC event, one attendee named John Sullivan referred to Jews as “evil” and “parasites”. PSC member and Green Party candidate Pippa Bartolotti recently visited Syria and was photographed waving the swastika of the SSNP (Syrian Social Nationalist Party), a group which is so unapologetic about its Nazism and racist aims, that members greet one another with a Heil Hitler salute. This year at a PSC rally, protesters screamed “Khybar al Yahud”, which refers to the battle of Khybar in which thousands of Jews were massacred.
But the PSC’s bigotry is not confined merely to racism – the organisation is also accused of homophobia. In 2006, Outrage, an organization that campaigns for gay rights around the world, attended a PSC event at which they raised concerns about the systematic brutalization and murder of gay people in Gaza and the Disputed Territories. They were subsequently attacked en-masse by PSC members and the violence was condemned by noted gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
The failure of the PSC leadership to condemn the activities of its core members, while at the same time providing national platform for fascist ideologues such as Salah, is indicative of, at best, toleration of such ideas; and at worst, endorsement.
It is our opinion that the examples provided in this website demonstrate that the PSC is an extremist, racist organisation, which tolerates homophobia and other forms of illiberalism. Well-meaning organizations that collaborate with the PSC on the basis of a presumed mutual belief in human rights, democracy and peace, should be informed of the PSC’s true nature; all political and human rights organisations that wish to demonstrate probity should take steps to distance themselves from the PSC’s anti-peace and counter-cohesive message.
Who is behind the PSC? Is the PSC anti-Semitic? Jew-Hatred Other PSC Bigotries